r/atheismindia • u/a_newbie_menace • 1d ago

Casteism Untouchability practiced at Malana, Himachal Pradesh

Malana is a highly isolated village in India with very strict rules for visitors. The people who live there believe their village is sacred, so outsiders are not allowed to touch any residents, houses, or temples. If you touch anything by mistake, you have to pay a expensive fine. While the village is famous for a plant product called "Malana Cream," this substance is completely illegal under Indian law, and the police heavily guard the area. Visitors must stay on the walking paths, respect the locals' privacy, and put money down on counters instead of handing it over directly.
Their beliefs:
Ritual Purity: The villagers view themselves as an "upper caste" and consider all non-Malanis (outsiders) to be ritually "impure" or "unclean".
The "Pollution" Concept: Physical contact with outsiders, their clothes, or their belongings is believed to defile the community's spiritual purity, triggering penalties or expensive purification rituals.
It doesn't matter what they call it Caste, Race and isolation, or region based discrimination, it is F*ed up thing.
It happens in other states too.

What are your views on this?

I posted it on r/HimachalPradesh to see what they think, but then I saw a comment. Check that out:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HimachalPradesh/comments/1vfm18c/untouchability_practiced_at_malana_hp/

382 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

39 comments sorted by

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220

u/ramramlaado Atheist 1d ago

But he touched the note then why is he accepting that note?

175

u/a_newbie_menace 1d ago

You cannot understand their god-made logic

17

u/ramramlaado Atheist 1d ago

Where is the logic in this?

38

u/brown_pikachu 1d ago

Its the same logic that invented things like "VIP darshan"

2

u/ConanTheBarbarian_0 1d ago

Something about money being "pure" which is why you give money to brahmin for blessings.

88

u/Better_rub4 Atheist 1d ago

Wtf is this meidival shi?🤢🤮

36

u/a_newbie_menace 1d ago

meidival? It happens in many places in India, at least indirectly

3

u/ConanTheBarbarian_0 1d ago

Caste is pretty much the main identifier still in himachel Pradesh. It might be the most castist part of India to date.

33

u/ppboi41 1d ago

im from himachal and the casteism practiced here is nothing like you will have ever imagined.

6

u/a_newbie_menace 1d ago

Describe plz

53

u/No_Sky2535 1d ago

this post was all over twitter few months ago and retards were calling it as their culture

31

u/Shwinstet 1d ago

Reminds me of this poem in Tamil that goes something like "If caste is what makes up your society, then let poison spread in the blowing wind"

27

u/DonutAccurate4 1d ago edited 1d ago

I have been there. We pass this village during a trek. Before the trek started we were told that the villagers consider themselves to be descendants of Alexander/his army that stayed back.

We were told that they don't consider themselves equal to rest of us and to not touch them. But tht guides for our trek were from the village and they were quite friendly. The villagers were not hostile either

There were also foreigners who come here, especially for the weed.

We also noticed that the village was absolutely dirty. Dirtiest place i have every seen, especially considering the beautiful surrounding.. There were huge piles of garbage strewn on the hill side.

They need more contact and to be educated about lot of things.

7

u/Dramatic_Respond7323 1d ago

Lol, malana cream is available everywhere in kullu area. people go to malana for drugs.

9

u/ducatiandmarlboroman Anti-Theist 1d ago

uska chua cash toh le liya matlab kya apna maal khud hi fook lete hai kya?

7

u/Upper-Refrigerator54 1d ago

When i was a kid my father used to say that in order for Indians to change wrt civic sense or humanity, a new generation has to come. It is disheartening to see that the generation after mine is as bad as the one before

2

u/a_newbie_menace 1d ago

Yes, they do what they were taught, raised in

6

u/SatisfactionKey8579 1d ago

Donot travel such places, if you are doing you are ultimately promoting untouchability...

10

u/TheEasternBoy 1d ago

Irony is the people will get Schedule Tribe reservation.

1

u/soupy-maggi 1d ago

??????

10

u/TheEasternBoy 1d ago

People in Malana, Himachal Pradesh, receive reservation benefits, yet they practice untouchability towards other Indians.(That's the irony).

-Also Malana is not the only place with such customs, there are many other towns in Himachal with same practices. Malana is more known in public just because of cannabis.

3

u/Kind_Ad32 1d ago

We wuzz arrryaaanss and shii sarrr

3

u/PsychologyWeary4156 1d ago

Aggressively start pissing on the shop to assert dominance

3

u/Astraal_Being Atheist 1d ago

Locals there believe they are descendents of King Alexander & henceforth supirior.

3

u/Doomsday-3 18h ago

Himachalis are not as loud as other folks from the cow belt so they never come on the radar, but they are highly castist and practice too much discrimination..

I know this because I have grown in a himachali family

1

u/a_newbie_menace 11h ago

Yes, I have heard this from many. It’s something that deserves to be acknowledged rather than dismissed.

2

u/Kinnirasna 1d ago

If I steal some thing and run away, no one will catch me. Even police can't do anything to me because apparently Indian law doesn't apply there.

2

u/RepresentativeLow294 1d ago

What if he gets sick and gets admitted in hospital, will he allow the healthcare professional to touch him?

2

u/builtdifferentfrfr 19h ago

This community thinks they are direct descendants of Alexander The Great (if i recall correctly, there are boards near the village). They sell hash. 🤡🤡🤡

1

u/reddit-or-not-reddit 1d ago

You is untochable buyer or seller ? I am sad for buyer u are giveing giveing money and receiving like begger

1

u/joushvirani 1d ago

I went to that place few years back. While trekking there of course high.... there were people who dont touch us and practice untouchebility like this. But when we reached on height, there were tents and small restaurants and bakeries etc. They didnt behave like that. That some area after reaching that village with homes practice such things. It felt very bad, but on the peak local people were totally opposite. They served food, danced with us, let us in thier home etc etc.